Built in 1868, the 201 West Washington Street building is the oldest building in downtown Rensselaer and lies within the Rensselaer Courthouse Square Historic District, a national historic district located in Rensselaer, Jasper County, Indiana. Over more than a century, the building has served as a bank, a physician’s office, and a law office.

The building was constructed with steel beams covered in orange bricks that were common in the mid-19 th century. Narrow vertical windows traversed the first and second floors. The first business to occupy the building was Rensselaer’s first bank, the McCoy Bank:

In 1904, the McCoy Bank failed and was liquidated. The Jasper Circuit Court appointed James H. Chapman as trustee and the property was conveyed to Delos Thompson, Charles Spitler and Frank Foltz, who co-founded the State Bank of Rensselaer which opened for business on June 1, 1904, in the McCoy building.

Some time around the turn of the 20 th century, a façade was installed to cover the soft orange bricks, giving the building a grey quarried appearance. The wraparound balcony was removed, as shown during the occupancy of the State Bank of Rensselaer in 1904:

In 1916, the State Bank of Rensselaer left the McCoy building and moved into the building formerly occupied by the Trust and Savings Bank. Meanwhile, the Trust and Savings Bank bought the newly formed Farmers Bank and Trust Company and moved into the McCoy building on October 16, 1917. In 1926, the Trust and Savings Bank purchased the First National Bank of Rensselaer. The Trust and Savings Bank closed on December 6, 1930, and reopened in April 1931 before closing for good in April 1932.

Luther F. Symons, Bank Commissioner of the State of Indiana took charge of the bank. The Indiana Attorney General represented the Commissioner and initiated receivership proceedings in the Jasper Circuit Court. George W. Scott was appointed Receiver. On September 8, 1934, the Receiver held a public auction with authority granted to him by Jasper Circuit Court Judge Moses Leopold. The purchaser was Wilson Shaeffer.

By the early 1940s, the lower-level windows were enlarged and situated in their present location:

Upon returning from service in the United States Army with the 130th Station Hospital in England, France and Germany in World War II, Rensselaer native Dr. Ernest R. Beaver established his medical practice in December 1946 which he operated at 201 West Washington Street until his retirement in 1978.

In 1970, Dr. Beaver’s son James R. Beaver, along with retired U.S. Rep. Charles A. “Charlie” Halleck founded the law firm of Halleck & Beaver P.C. in the building’s 104 South Van Rensselaer office.

Dr. Beaver’s retirement in 1978 prompted James R. Beaver to convert the doctor’s office to a law office, where the law firm of Beaver & Beaver P.C. is located today.

In 2012 - 2014, the exterior was fully remodeled.  The windows were replaced, and the trim was repainted.  After more than one hundred years, the façade was failing.  A historical preservation firm from Fort Wayne completely repaired and repainted the façade, sealing it watertight to protect the original orange bricks for the next hundred years.

The 201 West Washington Street Building has stood the test of time, and so have we.